Faith, Service, Responsibility and Respect

William F. White, President, IBK Capital Corp.; feannie Butler, President, Positive Changes and Chair, Canada's National Ballet School and Chair, Centennial Gala Committee, The Empire Club of Canada; George Cooke, President and CEO, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company and Past President, The Empire Club of Canada; The Hon. Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Government of Ontario; Geoffrey Mitchinson, Vice-President, Public Affairs and Reimbursement, GIaxoSmithKline; Ken Shaw, National Editor, CFTO Television and Director, The Empire Club of Canada; Terry Guest, Executive Director, The Round Square; Tulla Bateman-Parkin, Marketing Director, National Ballet School of Canada and Member of Centennial Gala Committee, The Empire Club of Canada; and The Most Rev. Terence E. Finlay, Honorary Chaplain, The Empire Club of Canada.

Introduction by Ann Curran

Well ladies and gentlemen not only are we here to celebrate the Centennial of The Empire Club but we are also here to welcome and hear from His Royal Highness The Duke of York.

As the video mentioned, this club was created 100 years ago to foster better understanding and strengthen its ties with Britain and the Commonwealth.

Over the years the club has evolved and expanded to discuss issues and ideas of national and international importance.

So it is very fitting to welcome to our podium 100 years later a member of the Royal family who can share his views on Canada, the Commonwealth and the global community.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of York.

The Duke of York

When I was asked to come to speak to you today I asked what I should talk about and I was told that I should talk about my educational and personal philosophies. I have since been told that this, although interesting in itself, would not be of any interest to this group. So having prepared one speech I had to reject it. I was then asked to speak on more topical matters that pertain to your Centenary and in particular to the position of the monarch in Canada. This too was deemed too close to the mark and something that I was neither knowledgeable about nor authorized to speak on. So I tore up another carefully prepared speech. What I should speak to you about became a nightmare of dramatic proportions as time for preparation ticked by.

I decided that I would tackle the topical and educational subject from a different perspective and try to tie together the over-arching principles of leadership and service that so envelop our family's life.

We have been celebrating the 50th year of the Queen's accession last year in the Golden Jubilee celebrations and most recently we gave thanks in Westminster Abbey for the 50th anniversary of her coronation.

I want you to think for just one moment what it must have been like for a 26-year-old to come to the throne of England. The daunting prospect ahead of her must have been almost too incredible to contemplate.

We have now been ruled by her for 50 glorious years and I want to share with you some of the ethos that has rubbed off on me that might help to shed light on the monarch and her exquisite leadership.

I am the first child to be born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria in the 19th century. Life for me began in Buckingham Palace and it is my home. It is a strange place to be brought up if you think about it for a moment; an office by any other description. My mother was determined that we should have the same chance to be a family as anyone else. But there were significant differences that I can remember. For example, I remember that if I didn't get up for breakfast at the appointed time it was allowed to go cold and was then taken away by the staff. This was a very good first lesson in life. In order not to starve I had to be on time for meals. But much more importantly, my life depended on many other people and my duty was not to make their lives more complicated than they already were with all their other duties. So the understanding that others were just as, if not more, important than myself was a lesson well learnt and never forgotten.

I remember that my mother, despite all the many different duties she had, would always make time for us in the mornings and evenings so that we always spent quality time with our parents. I did start life at a time where children were still seen and not heard, but as time has passed this has changed.

My early educational influence was from the philosophy of Kurt Hahn. Hahn did not simply believe in education as filling the brain with academic knowledge. He worked on the principle of acquiring knowledge and experience and educating the whole person. He stressed "the importance of purposefully directed experience as a part of a whole education." And if there is one thing that I have learnt it is that understanding failure is as important, if not more important, than understanding success.

Hahn's philosophy was to free the sons and daughters of the wealthy and powerful from the limitations of privilege. It might perhaps be an old-fashioned view, but one that has certainly stood the test of time with me.

Having grown up in this environment it was no wonder that I joined the Royal Navy. It became clearer to me during my time in the service just what it meant to be in a position of responsibility or command. I had the privilege to command one of Her Majesty's ships for nearly two years. In that time I came to understand the nuances of leadership and command that my upbringing and education had prepared me for. When in command of a ship you are almost a god as your word is the law. The understanding of how to wield this power is the greatest lesson I could have learnt.

When my mother became Queen in 1952 it was a great shock to her and the world. She had the benefit of an upbringing that prepared her for the day when this would happen. Although you can never be fully prepared for what might happen, the upbringing and education you have experienced can all be drawn upon to help in what you are experiencing in the here and now.

But for a moment I want to reflect on the Coronation that took place this month 50 years ago by looking at the Coronation service we had a couple of weeks ago.

This was a service of immense importance that perhaps has been lost over time and through the changes we have witnessed the past 50 years.

To quote from the service: "This Abbey has resounded to the acclamation of the people for their Sovereign. For here is held the ceremony of coronation, the anointing and crowning, as the Monarch commits herself to lead and serve the nation. It is a very public but also an intimate ritual."

"It begins with the presentation to the congregation and their formal recognition of their `Undoubted Queen'."

It is not until you see it written down in those simple terms that there is an inkling of what lies in store for the rest of a monarch's life as "she commits herself to lead and serve the nation." It is a public but also an intimate ritual.

It does not matter whether this is England, Scotland, Australia or Canada. To all of them and you she is committed and has committed her life to your service. This is done on a day-to-day basis in Canada by the Governor General on her behalf.

But this personal commitment is of vital importance to everyone and something that is now lost to some. Within the service we gave thanks for her Faith, Service, Responsibility and Respect.

First, Faith:

I was brought up in the Church of England and it is through this that I have come to understand my mother's commitment and faith in her God. We were all encouraged to investigate our faith and our relationship with God and I know that the relationship that I have is a personal one that may be different from my siblings' but is as deeply rooted as that of my mother's. Her wisdom is born from a deep understanding of her faith and commitment in the sight of God in Westminster Abbey.

Second, Service:

"`Coronation' means `crowning,' but the heart of the ceremony is in fact the anointing. Dressed simply, the Sovereign is anointed with oil by the Archbishop, the ceremony being hidden from the gaze of the people by a canopy held by four knights. Anointing sets someone apart for a sacred, and often sacrificial, function."

The monarch no longer washes feet as was done in the past. But the handing out of "The Royal Maundy" each year is a symbolic representation of that act of service reminding everyone of the Monarch's personal service to her people.

The reading from St. John finished with the sentence by Jesus: "For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you."

The Monarch gives you her personal commitment to serve you all the days of her life, whether here in Canada or in the U.K. My knowledge of how this is manifested is demonstrated on a daily basis and I have been brought up to understand that commitment, and to serve her as well as I can on her behalf. I see this not as a strange commitment to serve my mother as well as my Monarch but as an additional part of my upbringing and evolving understanding of her commitment to you and for you.

Next, Responsibility:

To quote from the order of service again: "The Monarch is given symbols of office, the orb and sceptres, and finally the crown. It is the moment when it might look as though absolute power rests in the Sovereign. But to lead does not imply power over others rather the authority to represent them. The Sovereign is crowned and takes on this awesome responsibility, reminded by the words above the altar that, "The kingdom of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ."

The responsibility that rests on the Queen is indeed awesome and although she has had 50 years to get used to it, it doesn't change the fact that she feels the responsibility every day. I was saying earlier that I began to understand the responsibility of command and leadership when I was in command of a ship. I only had 45 men. It was awesome to me and the understanding of power is something that can be intoxicating. Nevertheless my upbringing and sitting at the Queen's feet for all these years has taught me much about responsibility and its awesomeness.

The wisdom of The Queen is based on years of experience and she, I know, is aware of the need for a light touch and long view, things that can't be taught but a part of what the day brings.

Lastly, Respect:

"Once the Monarch is crowned and acclaimed, representatives of various groups approach, kneel, and swear allegiance to their Sovereign. The first is the Archbishop of Canterbury, the one who crowned the monarch."

We live in a new age where the age of deference has been superseded by the age of reference and we are in danger of losing sight of one or two fundamental building blocks of democracy if this is misunderstood. Respect is one of these blocks. It is not only our respect for the faith, service and responsibility of our Monarch but also her respect for us. Everyone knows that loyalty is a two-way street. Going right back to the beginning of what I said it was a lesson I learnt very early on in life. But the same is true of respect.

In conclusion I will finish with a quotation from the Queen's Christmas Broadcast last year in 2002: "Anniversaries are important events in all our lives. I felt that the Golden Jubilee was more than just an anniversary The celebrations were joyous occasions, but they also seemed to evoke something more lasting and profound--a sense of belonging and pride in country, town or community; a sense of sharing a common heritage enriched by the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of our twenty-first century society. It was a time to remind ourselves that we must never forget the plight of the disadvantaged and excluded, that we must respond to the needs of someone in distress or despair. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings and to put my trust in God."

The appreciation of the meeting was expressed by Ann Curran, President, The Empire Club of Canada and Director, Corporate Development International.